Mary, contemplative woman
Listening to the Word: The visit of the Magi (Mt 2: 1-12)
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, ...

Meanwhile, on June 1, 1596, the unfortunate Chizzola had arrived in Rome. About a month later, the record of the inquest arrived from Spain and the trial could begin. Clement VIII with his customary passion for detail insisted on examining the record personally. Chizzola was suspended from office and on August 4 imprisoned in Castel Sant’Angelo next to Traspontina. A young friar, Bartholomew Franceschini, of the province of Romandiola, charitably volunteered to share his imprisonment ...

Mary, the mother who clothes us with the Scapular
Listening to the Word: The birth (Lk 2: 1-20)
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrolment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which ...

Mary, wonderful in her service
Listening to the Word: The Visitation (Lk 1: 39-45)
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and ...

Mary, welcoming model
Listening to the Word: The Annunciation (Lk 1: 26-38)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and ...

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16, we'd like to share the following letter from the Prior General of the Carmelites around the world. We also invite you to prepare yourself through prayer by returning for our Novena over the next nine days.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Carmelite Family:
The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is approaching, and another year has gone by. I ...

Master Alfio Mattioli continued the visitation of the Spanish provinces at the behest of the nuncio, who was concerned lest the king take the occasion to appoint Dominicans or Discalced Carmelite visitors. In consultation with Don García de Loaysa, the confessor of the king, and his majesty himself, Gaetani drew up “a brief reform,” based on the decrees of Clement VIII, “a reform which Cardinal Sega had made when he was nuncia,” and the constitutions ...

Until he received instructions from Rome, Gaetani, on October 29, 1595, ordered Chizzola to employ his secretary, Ambrose Vallejo, lector at the university of Salamanca, in place of Sivori, who was to retire to Avila. Chizzola was to betake himself to Toledo and from there carry on the duties of his office. The nuncio forbade him to do anything without the authorization of his socius, Alfio Mattioli, of whom he had excellent reports.
Chizzola took all ...

The most serious accusation against the prior general was adultery. While the nuncio was interrogating the prior general and his companions in Madrid, the cardinal of Seville, Roderick de Castro, was carrying on his own investigation. He stopped after hearing the “four principal friars of the convent of Seville,” because the general’s actions, he said, were evidently public knowledge. This interrogation is not available, but another hearing of sixty witnesses, later held from November 17, ...

At Seville, Chizzola seems seldom if ever to have appeared in choir and refectory. His excuses of ill health and other reasons failed to convince.
The general was also accused of promising the priorates of certain convents before the office fell vacant, of bestowing degrees on unsuitable candidates and of granting privileges derogatory to the common life, such as exceptions from attending choir. These accusations were claimed to be of matters “public and notorious.” Chizzola effectively ...

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We invite you to join us on the path up Mount Carmel. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus with Elijah and Mary is a wonderful, deeply satisfying life. We welcome you to contact us at any time via the information below.